Counter top and removable cabinet assembly



Oct. 12, 1965 M. GAMST 3,211,507

COUNTER TOP AND REMOVABLE CABINET ASSEMBLY Filed June 24, 1963 INVENTOR. MAGNAR GAMST A TTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,211,507 COUNTER TOP AND REMOVABLE CABINET ASSEMBLY Magnar Gamst, RR. 1, Gait, Ontario, Canada Filed June 24, 1963, Ser. No. 289,969 8 Claims. (Cl. 312-255) This invention is a novel furniture cabinet assembly in which a countertop is supported independently of the cabinets by a novel leg arrangement which also provides for removably supporting incomplete cabinet structures. The novel furniture cabinet assembly of my invention has a number of clear advantages over current art practices in the provision of furniture for laboratories, kitchens, and other places where storage cabinets, drawers, etc. are provided below countertops which are used as workspaces. For example, the countertops may be installed on the supports with .all surface plumbing such as sinks, faucets, etc., hooked up, making all areas below the top accessible to the plumber without interfering with the finished cabinets. Installation time may be reduced by making it unnecessary for the plumber to call on the carpenters for assistance. All cabinets to be used in the installation need not be present for completion of the counter top. Therefore shipping delays, lack of funds to complete the cabinet arrangement, etc., need not delay installation and those items which arrive after the initial installation may be added to the assembly without the need for professional workmen. Because the plumbing and electrical work and the major carpentry involved in setting up a kitchen or laboratory using the novel furniture assemblage of this invention may be done in the absence of the cabinets, there is less chance for damaging the finish of the cabinets. Also, no cabinet of the assemblage need be provided with finished sides, which often are hidden and thus not fully exploited in present cabinet arrangements.

The novel furniture assemblage of this invention comprises a specially designed leg or support assembly, a countertop which may be more-or-less of standard design and one or more cabinet units having slightly wider fronts than bodies.

The novel leg or support units employed in the furniture assembly of this invention comprise vertical members firmly and fixedly held in a spaced-apart relation by upper and lower stretchers. The upper stretcher is generally at the very top end of the vertical legs and the lower stretcher is generally above floor level, preferably at the level of the bottom of the cabinets. The lower stretcher is provided with generally two or more glide members which may be integrally attached or loosely supported by the lower stretcher. The leg assembly may be made of wood or metal members but preferably is made of wood stock which is about square in cross-section. Generally, at least the lower stretcher is polygonal in cross-section to provide improved stability to the glides which rest on its upper surface. The vertical members may be provided at their lower extremities with adjustable feet to accommodate for an uneven or unlevel floor.

The cabinet, drawer, or other like structure generally will be composed of sides, a bottom and a back, but usually a top is not necessary. The front of the cabinet will exceed the distance from one side to the other, but by less than about the width of the leg; one-half of this excess is apportioned to each side of the cabinet. Thus the fronts of two adjacent cabinets will serve to partially conceal a leg. The remainder of the concealing is performed by means of a strip which joins the adjacent fronts. Since only the front of the cabinet and the strip will be seen in use, only these portions need be given a decorative finish. Since the cabinet does not need to support the countertop it may be made of much lighter construction than is commonly observed. The sides of the cabinet fit almost snugly between adjacent leg assemblies of the complete furniture assemblage, so that these leg assemblies are generally placed standard lengths apart, such as 18", 24", 30", etc.

The glide members supported by the lower stretcher of the leg assembly generally present a middle portion which rests on the stretcher and an end portion on either side of the middle portion which supports the side of the cabinet. The end portions are usually displaced vertically from the central portion by a distance about equal to the height of the lower stretcher. Preferably either end portion of the glide extends an amount about equal to the thickness of the cabinet side. The novel furniture assemblage of this invention generally includes a finished end panel which rests on end portions of the glides, and extends around to the front to cover the leg assembly in association With the joining strip and the adjacent cabinet front.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a completed cabinet assemblage according to this invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view of the elements which comprise the assemblage.

The assemblage comprises a countertop 9 which may have the backsplash portion 11 and the cap 12, may be of any length desired and may be made of conventional material, e.g., stone, synthetic resin sheet laminated to plywood, etc. and may contain any desired equipment, e.g., sinks, range tops, etc. The countertop rests upon a plurality of leg assemblies 13 which are composed of front and rear legs 15 and 17 and upper and lower stretchers 20 and 22. In general, the front legs 15 will be recessed back of the front edge of the countertop. The countertop may be fastened to the upper stretcher 20 by any suitable means. For example, the screws 25 may pass through the holes 30 into the countertop for easy demountability. It will be noted that the furniture assemblage of this invention need not be fixed to the wall, although it may be adjacent the wall especially when the cap portion 12 is omitted.

The furniture assemblage of this invention is provided with one or more of the glides 33 which rest on the lower stretcher 22. These generally are made of sheet metal stock of a strength sufficient to support the cabinets. Each glide has a central portion 36 which is of a shape conforming to the upper surface of the lower stretcher 22 and may be fastened to the stretcher 22 by any convenient means, for example, the screws 37 which pass through the holes 38. Each glide also has the side portions 39 which are kept in a horizontal position either by the shape of the stretchers 22 and the center portions 36 or by the fasteners 37. The lateral extent of each glide and the number of glides used on each lower stretcher 22 is frequently a matter of choice on the part of the assembler. For example, one long glide on each lower stretcher may perform all the necessary support function. More usually, however a plurality of shorter glides will be employed. In any event the glides are sufiicient in quality and quantity to give the support desired. Each of the side portions 39 will generally extend out from the central portion 36 a distance sufficient to give the support needed by the cabinet elements which rest on these side portions. The side portions may be provided with holes for insertion of fastening means into the bottom of the cabinet element or the end portions 39 may include upturned side portions to form a channel for the sides of the cabinet element. As shown in the drawings the legs 15 and 17 may be provided with the adjustable feet 42.

Various types of cabinet elements are illustrated in the drawings. The cabinet element 44, for example, has merely doors and internal shelves while element 46 has doors and drawers. Element 48 is a kneespace element, which along with finished side 50 may be considered a cabinet element although it is used generally only for the sake of appearance and may sometimes be omitted. Element 48 provides the drawer,.but otherwise merely covers the legs and wall which would be exposed if this element were omitted. These cabinet elements are for the most part conventional in construction. The element 44, for example, may comprise a conventional upper frame 52 and lower frame 55 arrangement. The arrangement is usually held together by the back sheath 57 and the side sheath 60. The cabinet element may also be provided with the kick board 63 when the use of such is indicated. As shown in the drawings, the front 66 of the cabinet element overhangs the sides at 68 and 70 and the amount of this overhang is a little less than about onehalf the thickness of the legs 15. The finished side 50 is likewise provided at its front with an overhang but only overhanging the unfinished or inside portion of this element. These overhanging portions are generally notched, as at 72, along the almost abutting portions of the cabinet elements. The thin joining strip 75 connects the elements together and is held within the grooves of adjacent cabinet elements. This joining strip may be made of metal, but preferably is made of a somewhat flexible decorative plastic laminate material which can be slipped between the adjacent cabinet elements from the bottom.

Generally, a very tight fit between the leg assemblies and the cabinet element is avoided, in order to provide for easy assembly and disassembly. Any unrigidity due to the presence of this clearance between the leg unit and the cabinet element may be avoided by providing the screws 78 for joining the upper frame 52 to the upper stretcher 20 by means of the holes 80.

Generally the front leg is recessed back of the position taken by the kickboard 63 so that the foot 42 is covered.

The assembly of the furniture elements is performed relatively simply. The leg members 13 are fastened to the under-surface of the countertop 9 at the proper distances, this sub-assembly is put into position and any required plumbing or electrical work is performed. It is obvious that this sub-assembly is easily demountable and movable to another location. The glides 33 are placed on the lower stretchers 22 and, if desired, fastened thereon. The desired cabinet elements are then slid into place between adjacent leg units and rests on the facing end portions of glides on each of these adjacent leg units. If the screws 78 are employed, these are then put in place. The finished side 50, if desired, is attached to the leg assembly supporting the final cabinet in a row. If other cabinets are added later, this side is merely detached, glides put on the additional leg. assemblies and the additional cabinets put into place. Then the finished side may be put at the new end of the line of the cabinets.

It is clear, therefore, that the novel furniture cabinet assembly of this invention provides for much greater flexibility and economy than other cabinet arrangements heretofore proposed.

It is claimed:

1. A countertop'and cabinet assembly comprising a countertop resting upon leg units which are spaced apart and 'rernovable independently of each other, each leg unit comprising a set of two legs rigidly fastened to each other and spaced apart, in a dimension perpendicular to the long dimension of the countertop, by an upper and a lower stretcher, at least two of said lower stretchers supporting glide elements, each glide element having a center portion resting on the said lower stretcher and side portions extending horizontally from each side of said center portion, a cabinet element having a front and sides, said sides resting on the facing side portions of glides on adjacent leg units and being supported solely thereby, said cabinet element being demountable from said assembly independently of change in said leg units and without disassembly of said cabinet element, said front covering less than one-half of the Width of the front of each adjacent leg unit.

2. The assembly of claim 1 in which the underside of the countertop is fastened to said upper stretcher.

3. The assembly of claim 1 in which the center portion of said glide conforms in shape to the upper portion of said lower stretchers.

4. The assembly of claim 1 which includes a side member which rests on the side portions of the glides supporting the last cabinet element in a row of cabinet elements and covers less than half the width of the front of its adjacent leg unit.

5. The assembly of claim 1 in which the lower stretcher of the leg unit is at a level with the bottom of the cabinet element.

6. The assembly of claim 1 in which the said leg units are provided with adjustable feet.

7. The assembly of claim 5 in which the leg units are supported by a floor and a kick-board, fastened to the cabinet element, extends from the bottom of the cabinet to the floor.

8. A countertop and cabinet assembly comprising a substantially horizontal countertop resting upon a plurality of substantially vertical leg units which are spaced apart and removable independently of each other, each leg unit comprising a set of two legs rigidly fastened to each other and spaced apart, in a dimension perpendicular to the long dimension of the countertop, by an upper and a lower stretcher, said lower stretcher of each leg unit supporting glide elements, each glide element having a center portion resting on said lower stretcher and side portion extending horizontally from each side of said center portion, a plu- 'rality of cabinet elements each having a front and sides, said sides resting on the facing side portions of glides on adjacent leg units and being supported solely thereby, said cabinet elements being demountable from said assembly independently of each other and independently of change in said leg units and without disassembly of said cabinet elements, said fronts covering less than one-half the width of the front of each adjacent leg unit, a side member resting on the side portions of the glides supporting the last cabinet element in a row of cabinet elements and covering less than half the width of the front of its adjacent leg unit and strips joining adjacent fronts of said cabinet elements and said side member to complete covering of said leg unit.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A COUNTERTOP AND CABINET ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A COUNTERTOP RESTING UPON LEG UNITS WHICH ARE SPACED APART AND REMOVABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER, EACH LEG UNIT COMPRISING A SET OF TWO LEGS RIGIDLY FASTENED TO EACH OTHER AND SPACED APART, IN A DIMENSION PERPENDICULAR TO THE LONG DIMENSION OF THE COUNTERTOP, BY AN UPPER AND A LOWER STRETCHER, AT LEAST TWO OF SAID LOWER STRETCHERS SUPPORTING GLIDE ELEMENTS, EACH GLIDE ELEMENT HAVING A CENTER PORTION RESTING ON THE SAID LOWER STRETCHER AND SIDE PORTIONS EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY FROM EACH SIDE OF SAID CENTER PORTION, A CABINET ELEMENT HAVING A FRONT AND SIDES, SAID SIDES RESTING ON THE FACING SIDE PORTIONS OF GLIDES ON ADJACENT LEG UNITS AND BEING SUPPORTED SOLELY THEREBY, SAID CABINET ELEMENT BEING DEMOUNTABLE FROM SAID ASSEMBLY INDEPENDENTLY OF CHANGE IN SAID LEG UNITS AND WITHOUT DISASSEMBLY OF SAID CABINET ELEMENT, SAID FRONT COVERING LESS THAN ONE-HALF OF THE WIDTH OF THE FRONT OF EACH ADJACENT LEG UNIT. 